Secretary-General of the Research Development and Innovation Council (QRDI) Eng. Omar Ali Al Ansari affirmed that artificial intelligence (AI) science and the digital revolution related to “metaverse” and “blockchain” are among the most important technological transformations in the current era, due to its contributions to the development of scientific research and innovation, through its ability to analyze huge amounts of data and process them faster and more effectively, which leads to the discovery of new patterns in the data and contributes to innovative scientific discoveries.
Al Ansari said in an exclusive interview with Qatar News Agency that the digital revolution and Blockchain technology will provide new levels of security, transparency and security for information, which contributes to the development of methods of dealing with information and data, storing and exchanging them. It also enhances trust and cooperation and opens new horizons in this field.
Al Ansari pointed out that QRDI Council’s mission lies in providing a fertile intellectual environment that contributes to leading the scientific research and innovation community in the State of Qatar, in line with the promotion of economic growth, indicating that the Council considers research, development and innovation the basis for sustainable growth and economic transformation towards knowledge and innovation in the country.
He explained that the council aims to promote technological development by stimulating and nurturing talent, develop the infrastructure to absorb and benefit from this development, and pave the way for exploring new areas of research, as well as expanding the knowledge of the research and development community in the areas of artificial intelligence, big data analysis, and others.
In this context, he referred to the Council’s endeavor to provide new opportunities for cooperation with relevant authorities from various countries of the world, with the aim of exchanging information and expertise and promoting scientific and technological progress.
He stressed the need to be wary of the social, ethical and legal challenges and implications of artificial intelligence that may arise as a result of these new technologies, and ensuring that it is used in responsible ways that achieve the desired benefit, in a way that preserves moral and social values, and achieves sustainable development.
Al Ansari pointed out that the QRDI Council has adopted a unified national strategy for innovation and scientific research, in order to maximize the impact of the research and innovation sector on the future of the national economy, noting that the Council launched the Qatar Strategy for Research, Development and Innovation 2030, which consists of seven strategic transformation axes.
He stressed that the Council plays an influential role in encouraging innovation led by the private sector to drive economic development and diversification, by supporting the business sector to be more competitive, localizing of research, development and innovation activities for international companies, and transforming Qatar into a prestigious regional innovation center.
He added that the Council is about to launch a new program package to support innovation in the private sector, as part of the third national development strategy, where it provided new platforms and programs in order to explore innovation opportunities in a limited range of major national companies and some government agencies, which establishes the importance of adopting innovative solutions in order to build new competitive advantages to raise its production efficiency.
In this context, Al Ansari emphasized the achievement of these platforms and programs and their success in attracting more than 30 companies from the private sector based on technology development, to provide solutions related to innovation opportunities, as it contributed to creating a promising market for the adoption of innovative solutions, while these platforms and programs are witnessing an increase in demand by a large number of major national companies to benefit from them.
He pointed out that QRDI Council is currently studying projects submitted by some companies based on technology development, in order to implement projects to test and develop innovative solutions in the country. These projects relate to opportunities to expand and localize innovation centers for international companies, in order to develop, adapt and test new technology on the land of Qatar, in addition to concluding long-term partnerships with major national companies and institutions with the aim of achieving joint development and early adoption of innovative technology and solutions.
Secretary-General of QRDI Council explained in his interview with QNA that this development would create a unique market in the region, targeting early adoption of the technology developed in Qatar, and expanding the creation of new economic activities related to innovation in the business sector, emphasizing the Councils commitment to implementing the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Strategy 2030 in cooperation with all partners and stakeholders, which resulted in Qatar achieving a qualitative leap in the Global Innovation Index (GII), advancing 16 places and becoming 52nd globally.
He stated that Qatar’s electronic portal for research, development and innovation has become a unique model in the region, and one of the few distinguished platforms at the global level.
Al Ansari indicated that the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Portal is a source for all records of innovation and scientific research projects in the country. According to the latest statistics in the first quarter of the year 2023, the portal contains 2863 projects, 11869 research publications, 266 new facilities, 4273 research devices, and 268 research services. The portal also connects more than 51 government entities, companies, universities, institutes, research laboratories, and others.
He pointed out that the State of Qatar has a strong economy that has been invested in building a distinguished infrastructure, referring to the council’s endeavor to create a market by promoting institutional innovation and attracting multinational companies to establish research and development centers, support emerging companies in the field of technology, research and development, and increase funding and government support.
He pointed out that QRDI Council has launched several initiatives within the framework of innovation programs, among them is the Qatar Open Innovation (QOI) program, which aims to support large companies and government institutions to find innovative solutions provided by a group of local and international innovators. He indicated that this program links the strategic entities within Qatar with “opportunities”, as these opportunities are identified, framed and announced, leading to the evaluation of the submitted offers, and giving the winners the opportunity to work with those strategic entities, to experiment with innovative solutions.
Al Ansari explained that QOI program has received, since its launch, more than 400 submissions from innovators across Qatar and the world, where the QRDI Council cooperated with a large number of major national institutions and companies, ministries and government agencies, all of which focused on the areas of health, energy, environment, transportation, education and smart cities, noting that the council announced during the past months that 9 companies won this grant.
He pointed out that the Product Development Management Program, which is being implemented in cooperation with Qatar Development Bank, has attracted 25 participants from 11 small and medium local companies. About 30 senior government employees (directors and heads of departments) from 10 ministries participated in the Government Innovation Leadership Program.
Source: Qatar News Agency
